Biblical Truth:God is holy: yet He takes initiative to persuade people that He can and
will help them in overwhelming situations.

God Takes
Initiative to Help: Exodus 3:4-8a.

[4] When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God
called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said,
“Here I am.” [5] Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from
your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” [6] He said
also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
[7] The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in
Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am
aware of their sufferings. [8] So I have come down to deliver them from the
power of the Egyptians.[NASU]

Exodus 3:1-12 provides the introductory context for the
revelation and explanation of this unique divine name. This section establishes
first of all the certainty of the Presence of God in the fire of theophany, in
the auditory experience of the identifying and calling word of God, and in the
certification of the place as a holy place by virtue of the appearance there of
God. This certainty, in turn, establishes the authority for the call of Moses,
namely, that God is to be with him in the mission he is to undertake, just as
he is with him at this special moment. And the linking of this experience of
Moses with the experience the sons of Israel are yet to have is cleverly made
by the sign that is promised as the proof of God’s Presence, namely, that the
sons of Israel, along with Moses, shall worship God together at this very same
mountain. From the next section [3:13-22] forward, much of the narrative of the
Book of Exodus is in one way or another a proof of the claim of God’s special
name. This section, introducing that name, gives us a first glimpse of the
essential point of that claim: He is here, really here.

[4-5] When Moses moves closer for a look at this
remarkable fire, Yahweh calls out to him from the midst of the bush. The
verb forbidding too close an approach by Moses is frequently used in the Old
Testament as a technical term to describe an approach to the Presence of God in
worship. Finally, in the ultimate certification of this site being a place
where God is present, Moses is told that he stands now on holy ground, and so
must remove his shoes in reverence. Holiness means separation. Something holy
is set apart. In the case of God, holiness means that he is set apart from
everything he has made. It is the distinction between the Creator and the creature,
the infinite distance between God’s deity and our humanity.

[6] The God who is manifesting himself to Moses is
identified with exact precision. Moses is told that this God who addresses him
is the God of the three great patriarchal fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
That Moses understood the identification of this God is made clear by his
reaction. Where before he continued to gaze at the bush, he now covered his
face, afraid to stare at God.

[7-8] God’s relationship with his covenant people is
a personal relationship. It is also a saving relationship and this is why God
revealed himself to Moses. The God who sees, hears, and knows his people is
also the God who saves. God was reaching down (to stoop, come down) to bring
(deliver, rescue) his people up out of Egypt. Here we see that the God who is
awesome in glory and fearsome in holiness stoops to save. There was something
God was saving them from. He was saving them from their slavery in Egypt,
delivering them from the house of bondage. There was also something he was
saving them to. He was saving them into the Promised Land. The point is that
God not only knew and cared about the plight of his people but was also
planning to do something about it. The story of the exodus is the history of
how God rescued his people, working out their whole salvation from beginning to
end.

The way God rescued Israel from Egypt is the way God always
rescues his people. The exodus is not simply past history but present reality.
The God who revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush is the same God we
serve today. Whenever and wherever we worship him, we are standing on holy
ground, praising the God of Abraham and crying out to him for salvation. The
exodus from Egypt reveals the pattern of salvation in Christ. Israel’s bondage
is a picture of our slavery to sin. Until we come to God in faith, we are
living in the Egypt of our sin, enslaved by its passions and desires.
Therefore, we are in as great a need of salvation as were the children of
Israel. If we are to be rescued, God will have to stoop down to save us.

God’s Power
Exceeds Any Other: Exodus 3:19-21.

[19] But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit
you to go, except under compulsion. [20] So I will stretch out My hand and
strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and
after that he will let you go. [21] I will grant this people favor in the sight
of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go
empty-handed. [NASU]

[19-21] Since he knew how
hard Pharaoh’s heart was, God knew that the elders’ request would be denied.
God also knew what it would take to bring Israel out of Egypt. This part of
Exodus provides an outline for the next eleven chapters. Step-by-step this is
how the Israelites would be saved: the people will believe, the king will be
hardened, the Egyptians will be plagued, the deliverance will occur, and
finally the Egyptians will be plundered. This proves that the God who saves is
a God who knows the future.

The exodus is a perfect example of
God’s unique ability not only to know the future, but also to predetermine it.
When God sent Moses to Pharaoh, he knew precisely what would happen. Everything
would happen according to his plan, as everything always does. What God would
do to conquer Pharaoh’s heart also proves his power. He did this by performing
extraordinary deeds of supernatural power. Only after God had proved his might
by performing all his wonders would Pharaoh let God’s people go. Actually he
would do more than let them go. The Hebrew phrase suggests an expulsion.
Pharaoh would be so eager to get rid of his former slaves that he would
practically push them out of Egypt. And when they finally went, the Israelites
would plunder the Egyptians. Centuries before, when he made his covenant
with Abraham, God specifically promised that his people would come out of their
captivity with many possessions [Genesis 15:14].

God Knows How to
Help: Exodus 4:10-12.

[10] Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have
never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have
spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11] The
Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or
seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? [12] Now then go, and I, even I, will
be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” [NASU]

God answered the objection of Moses by reminding him that he
was fearfully and wonderfully made. Moses had been given exactly the gifts that
God wanted him to have and those gifts were to be used for God’s glory. If it
is true that God made us exactly the way he wanted, then we cannot complain
about our lack of ability without grumbling against God. Every time we complain
about our personal limitations, what we are actually doing is insulting the God
who made us. The thing to do instead is to serve God as well as we can. Even if
our gifts are limited – as everyone’s gifts are, in one respect or another –
they should be used for God’s glory. If God is with us, then whatever abilities
or disabilities we have can be used for his glory.

The Bible does not say why
Moses was unwilling to go. It probably had something to do with the issues he
had already raised. If God’s angry response in verses 14-16 is any indication,
Moses was still worried about his speech problem. Very likely he felt
inadequate and afraid. But whatever the reason was, it really didn’t matter.
Quite simply, he was refusing God’s claim on his life. There is a time when it
is appropriate to ask the kinds of questions Moses had been asking. But once we
know what God wants us to do, it is time to stop asking and start obeying.

God Can Be
Believed: Exodus 4:27-31.

[27] Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the
wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. [28]
Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all
the signs that He had commanded him to do. [29] Then Moses and Aaron went and
assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; [30] and Aaron spoke all the
words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the
sight of the people. [31] So the people believed; and when they heard that the
Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their
affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.[NASU]

Everything went according to promise. Aaron went out to meet
Moses on God’s mountain, just as God had promised [Exodus 4:14]. Once the two
brothers had embraced, Moses reported what had happened to him at the burning
bush. Aaron agreed to help him, just as God had promised [Exodus 4:15-16].
Together they returned to Egypt and gathered the elders of Israel. Aaron told
them everything that Moses had seen and heard. Then he performed the sign of
the snake, the sign of the leprous hand, and the sign of the blood. Once the
people had witnessed these miracles, they believed the promise of salvation. It
all happened just the way God had promised.

It is worth noticing how little space the Bible devotes to
the meeting with the elders, especially when this is compared with the amount
of time Moses spent worrying about the meeting beforehand. The prophet’s fears
turned out to be ill-founded, as fears always are when they come from a failure
to trust God’s word. In spite of all his misgivings, Moses had no trouble
persuading the Israelites to believe the good news of their deliverance. There
is a valuable lesson in this. Often the real struggle comes at the point of
deciding whether or not to follow God. Once the decision to follow him has been
made, everything falls into place, and we are able to glorify God.

Exodus 4 ends with worship. Even while they were still
waiting for their liberation, the Israelites began to give God the glory. They
understood that the God of Moses is a God to be worshiped and adored. He is a
God who rules every heart by his sovereign will. He is a wonder-working God, a
God who keeps every last promise of salvation.

Questions for Discussion:

1.From 3:1 through
4:17, we have a narrative describing the interaction of two characters: God and
Moses. List the attributes and actions of each character. What do these verses
tell us about who God is; about his purpose for having come down; about
why he is calling Moses? What do these verses tell us about who Moses is; about
his strengths and weaknesses?